Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the launch of various development initiatives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Namaste, brothers!
Today is a very important day for the health facilities in Gujarat. I would like to congratulate and thank Bhupendrabhai, all the colleagues of the Council of Ministers, all the MPs, MLAs and Corporation dignitaries sitting on the dais for taking forward this important work at a fast pace. The world's most advanced medical technology, better facilities and medical infrastructure will now be available in our Ahmedabad and Gujarat, and will be used by the common man of society who cannot go to private hospitals. For all those, this government hospital and its team will be ready to provide 24 hours service, brothers and sisters. About three-and-a-half years ago, I had the privilege of visiting this campus to launch the Maternal and Child Health and super-specialty services with 1200 beds. Today, in such a short span of time, this Medicity Campus is ready in such a grand form. Simultaneously, the Institute of Kidney Diseases and U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology are expanding its capacity and services. Facilities like upgraded bone marrow transplant are also starting at the new building of Gujarat Cancer Research Institute. This will be the first government hospital in the country where modern technology like Cyber-Knife will be available. When the pace of development is as fast as that of Gujarat and the work and achievements are so much that it becomes difficult to even count them at times. As always, there is a lot that Gujarat is doing for the first time in the country. I congratulate all of you and all the people of Gujarat for these achievements. In particular, I fully appreciate Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel and his government for making these schemes successful with hard work.
Friends,
Today, I want to talk about an important journey of Gujarat in this program related to health. This is the journey of cure from various diseases. You would be wondering why Modi is talking about different types of maladies in the program meant for hospital. I will tell you about the kind of maladies that existed here. I am not a doctor but I had to cure all these maladies. Gujarat was plagued by many maladies about 20-25 years ago. There was one malady – backwardness in the health sector. The second was malpractices in education. The third was the lack of electricity. The fourth was the scarcity of water. The fifth was the rampant misgovernance. The sixth was bad law and order. And at the root of all these maladies was the vote bank politics. The elders, the people of the old generation, who are present here, are aware of all these. This was the situation in Gujarat 20-25 years ago! The youth had to go out of the state for a good education. People had to struggle for good treatment. People had to wait for electricity. They had to put up with corruption and crumbling law and order every day. But Gujarat is leading today, leaving behind all those maladies. And that's why we are running the campaign to make the state free from many maladies, just as citizens are cured of diseases. Today, when it comes to hi-tech hospitals, Gujarat remains at the top. When I was the Chief Minister here, I used to visit the Civil Hospital several times. At that time, I found that a large number of people from several areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan preferred to come to the Civil Hospital for treatment.
Friends,
Today, Gujarat has no match if we talk about prominent educational institutions and universities in the country. There is a marked improvement in the water, power and law and order situation in Gujarat. Today, the government of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas is continuously working for the welfare of Gujarat.
Friends,
Today this hi-tech Medicity and other health related services in Ahmedabad have given a new meaning to the identity of Gujarat. It is not only a welfare institution, but it is also a symbol of the potential of the people of Gujarat. The people of Gujarat will get better health facilities in Medicity and will also be proud that the world's top medical facilities are now growing continuously in their own state. The immense potential that Gujarat has in the field of medical tourism will also get a boost.
Friends,
We often hear that a healthy mind is necessary for a healthy body. This also applies to governments. If the mind of the governments is not healthy, their intention is not clear and there is no sensitivity for the people, then the health infrastructure of the state also weakens. The people of Gujarat have suffered a lot till 20-22 years ago. Most of the doctors you visit to seek treatment will definitely give you three pieces of advice. They will tell you three different alternatives. First, they will say that you will be cured with medicine. When the medicines don’t work, they are forced to say that there is no option other than surgery. Along with medicines or surgery, they also advise the family members to take care of their patients.
Friends,
Our government used these three methods of treatment to improve the medical system of Gujarat. What is advised to the patients, I would do the same for the prevalent systems in the state! Doctors recommend surgery. To me, it was a change in the old government system with courage and full force. Scissors on inaction, laxity and corruption has been my surgery. Second, it is medicine. To me, it included non-stop efforts to develop new systems, to develop human resources, to develop infrastructure, to research, to innovate, to build new hospitals and many such initiatives. And thirdly, care. This is the most important part of healing the health sector of Gujarat. We worked with care. We went among the people and shared their plight. Today I want to say with great humility that Gujarat was the first state in the country that used to organize health camps not only for humans but also for animals. People outside the state would find it strange when I used to say that there is dental and eye treatment for animals also.
Brothers and sisters,
Our efforts included public participation. I was addressing the G-20 summit during the Corona crisis. I pleaded with them to work for the One Earth, One Health mission in the wake of such a terrible crisis in the world. I called for helping the poor. We saw that there were several countries which had administered four to five vaccine doses during the Corona, whereas there were some other countries where the poor people could not get a single vaccine dose. I was in pain then. Then we decided to provide vaccines to the world so that none should die anywhere in the world, friends. And we all have seen that when the system became healthy, the health sector of Gujarat also became healthy. People started giving examples of Gujarat in the country.
Friends,
When efforts are made whole-heartedly with a holistic approach, their results are equally manifold. This is the mantra of the success of Gujarat. Today Gujarat has hospitals, doctors, and opportunities for the youth to fulfill their dream of becoming doctors. There used to be only nine medical colleges in such a huge state about 20-22 years ago. Only nine medical colleges! When there were only a few medical colleges, then naturally the scope for affordable and good treatment was also not as much. But, today there are 36 medical colleges offering their services. There were about 15,000 beds in government hospitals in Gujarat 20 years ago. Now the number of beds in government hospitals here has increased to 60,000. Earlier, there were only 2,200 seats for the Under Graduate and Post Graduate in medical education in Gujarat. Now there are 8,500 medical seats available for our youth in Gujarat. The doctors graduating from these colleges are strengthening health services in every nook and corner of Gujarat. Today, a large network of thousands of sub-centres, CHCs, PHCs and wellness centers is fully established in Gujarat.
And friends,
I would like to tell you that what I learnt in Gujarat became very handy after I moved to Delhi. With the same vision, we started working in the health sector at the Centre as well. We have built 22 new AIIMS in different parts of the country in the last eight years. Gujarat has also benefited from this. Gujarat also got its first AIIMS in Rajkot. The way work is being done in the health sector in Gujarat, the day is not far when Gujarat will be talked about all over the world in medical, pharma and bio-tech research. The double engine government's major focus is on this sector.
Friends,
When sensitivities are combined with resources, resources become the best medium of service. But, where there is no compassion, the resources are lost to selfishness and corruption. That is why I mentioned sensibilities in the beginning and also reminded you of the earlier system of misgovernance. Now the system has changed. The result of this sensitive and transparent system is that Medicity has been created in Ahmedabad and Cancer Institute has been modernized. At the same time, day care chemotherapy facilities have also started in every district of Gujarat, so that patients in the villages do not have to run here and there for chemotherapy. No matter where you are in Gujarat, you will get chemotherapy treatment in your own district, closer to your home. Similarly, complex healthcare services like dialysis are also being provided at the taluka level by Bhupendrabhai's government. Gujarat has also started the service of dialysis vans, so that a patient can be served at his home also during an emergency. Today the eight-floor Rain Basera  has also been inaugurated here. And as far as dialysis is concerned, the situation was very poor all over India. It is necessary for a dialysis patient to have dialysis within a prescribed time. I talked to the people involved in the major health sectors of the world. I told them that I wanted to build dialysis centers in every district in India. And as the work is going on at the Tehsil level in Gujarat, I have taken an ambitious initiative to provide the dialysis facilities at the district level in the country. Rapid progress is underway in this regard.
Friends,
The Government of Gujarat has ensured that the family members of the patient do not face any further problems. This is how the country is working today. These are the priorities of the country today.
Friends,
When the government is sensitive, the weaker sections of the society, the poor, the middle class families, mothers and sisters benefit the most. Earlier the maternal and infant mortality rate was a matter of great concern in Gujarat and the subsequent governments had left it to destiny. We decided that since this is a question for the lives of our mothers and sisters, it will not be allowed to be blamed on anyone's fate. In the last 20 years, we consistently formulated and implemented the right policies in this regard. Today, there has been a major reduction in the maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate in Gujarat. The life of the mother is also being saved, and the newborn is also stepping on the journey of his development safely in the world. The 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign has resulted in more number of daughters than sons for the first time. Behind these successes are the Gujarat government's schemes like 'Chiranjeevi' and 'Khilkhilahat'. This success of Gujarat is today guiding the whole country through schemes like 'Mission Indradhanush' and ' Matruvandana'.
Friends,
Today schemes like Ayushman Bharat are available for free treatment of every poor in the country. In Gujarat, 'Ayushman Bharat' and 'Mukhyamantri Amrutam' schemes are mitigating the worries and burdens of the poor. This is the strength of the double engine government.
Friends,
Education and health are two such areas which decide not only the present but also the future direction. For example, there was a facility of 1200 beds in the Civil Hospital in 2019. A year later, when the global pandemic struck, this hospital emerged as the biggest centre. How many lives did that one health infrastructure save? Similarly, AMC's SVP Hospital, Ahmedabad was started in 2019. This hospital also played an important role in fighting the global pandemic. If Gujarat did not have such a modern medical infrastructure in the last 20 years, imagine how difficult it would be for us to fight the global pandemic? We have to improve the present and also safeguard the future of Gujarat. I am sure Gujarat will take this pace of its development further and will take it to new heights. Your blessings will continue to grow and with the same strength, we will continue to serve you with more energy. I wish you all good health. Stay healthy and may your family remain healthy. With these best wishes, I put an end to my speech. Thanks a lot.
Disclaimer: This is an approximate translation of the Prime Minister's speech. Most of the original speech was in Gujarati language.